Process of forming liquid hydrocarbons



March 17, 1936.

s. F. MlCHOT-DUPONT ROCESS 3F FORMING LIQUID HYDROCARBONS' Filed July- 5', 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

W M WJW I 1770/?1575 Mmh 17, 1936.

e. F. MICHOT-DUPONT 2,033,914 PROCESS OF FQRMING LIQUID HYDROCARBQNS Filed July 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FOAM 5V5 WM 15 in the gas mixtures to be treated. mune to the ac ion of these latter substances 1 Paten d n 11.193 2,033,914

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Georges Francis Michot-Dupont, France, assignor to Phys cal chemistry Bemrch y, New York, N. Y., a coron or Delaware Application July 5, 1929, Serial No. 316,008 InBelgium June 1 9 3'Claim (CL 204-31) The present invention relates to methods and and supplementary hydrogen, are exposed at atapparatus for transiorming'coal into low-boiling 'mos'pheric pressure and at tempera-tine whichmixtures similar to gasoline.' may vary from room temperature to 600 0., to V Divers methods are now known for transformthe catalytic action'ot either (1) static field at 5 ing mixtures of unsaturated gases of the acetyl- "about 80,000 to 100,000 volts, or(2) ultrarviolet epic and ethylenio' series into low-boiling satlight or (3) an alloy composed of nickel and tin urated compounds by hydrogenation in the presin equal proportions admixed with a trace of mera ence of a suitable catalytic agent. These methcury.

ods sufler from the'serious disadvantage of re- The electrostatic field and the ultra-violet light, quiring the preliminary produ tion of unsatuwhen used as catalysts are, obviously, not aflectrated gases and are further rendered impractied by the sulphur and other catalytic poisonsf cable by the difficulty experienced in finding a contained in the gas similarly the catalyst which will withstand the poisoning nickel, tin, mercury alloy-the mercury, it is tobe action of sulphur and similar elements contained noted appears only in traces--is remarkably im- One of the objects of the invention is to proand, when used in the form of shavings or powvide a process and an apparatus operative to der, retains its activity practically indefinitely. transform the organic, portion of a solid com- The greater part of the activityv oi the catalyti bustible oi the nature of coal into gases and to alloy appears to be due to the tin-mercury comthen transform sai gases into a low-boiling bination; a catalyst composed of tin alone and hydrocarbon carrying traces of mercury operating to catalyze Another object is to provide catalytic means the reaction. However, the tin-mercury catalyst which will be unafiected by the .poisonous elehas too low a melting point and when operating ments contained in 'gasesprepared from coal. at higher temperatures it is desirable to add Further objects will appear in the course of the nickel in substantially the proportions indicated. detailed description now to be given with refer- The nickel, besides raising the melting point of once to the accompanying drawings, in which:- the alloy, appears to improve its catalytic qual- Fig. l is a diagrammatic section through one ity. In actual operation while the electrostatic illustrflitive-embodiment o t invention; field is found to catalyze the reaction when used F g, 2 milt s, d ag mmatically, another alone, better yields are obtained by combining the 30 possi l f r of the inv nt on. action or. ultra-violet rays therewith.

F 3 is seciioniaken 0!! line o the action or the metallic catalyst is improved The invention may. of u e-be carried o by the adjunction of an electrostatic field or or in any on of a number f Possible p r ti ultra-violet light or or both. The tem erature or structures and consists-oi the following steps. the reactin gases should not exceed 600 C. 35

Goal or anysimilar solid combustible is heated since, above this temperature, the yields become in suitable, closed, retorts first at a temperature very poor.

01 about 500 C. so as to drive ofi the more vola-- The reactions taking place in the reaction tile ingredients and then at a temperature of apchamber appear to be the following.

proximately 900? so as tov produce a semi-coke, The carbon monoxide and the hydrogenin the 40 the combined gases so produced and containing water gas enter into equilibrium in accordance hydrogen, methane, carbon niignoxide anddldiox;1 with the equations.

ide, benzol, toluene, xy ene, e being con note i p into a suitable reaction chamber to be mentioned Y further; on. glhe slemit-'gketrfisuileting iron tthhis 2CH =C H2+3Hg, 45

opera ons en rea wi samuner e ii usual conditions ior producing water-gas, and QHH'MHZ) zhydmca'rmns of the seflescn the carbon monoxide and hydrogen so formed and are conducted into the same reaction chamber {The homologues of methane (and of ethane) in used for receiving the volatilevmatter distilled the coal gas appear to undergo. changes similar 50 from the closed retorts. Finally. hydrogen in to those of methane in the presence of the hyvariable quantities--about 1600 liters for each drogen and.the catalytic agent in the reaction ton of coal originally-treated is introduced into chamber. The final product is a mixture or the reaction chamber hereinabove mentioned, saturated and or unsaturated compounds having and the combined gases i. e. coal gas, water gas approximately the same properties as natural I I hydrocarbon oils, the proportions of heavy and from n and provided with steam from a conduit light fractions varying with the nature of the c for converting the coke into water-gas,-an solid combustible used. 4

It is to be understood, of course, that instead hopper o, and adapted to convert steam, fed 5 of converting the semi-coke resulting directly thereinto into iron oxide and'hydrogen at about from the destructive distillation of a certain 800 C., the hydrogen entering chamber i,8-

10 of the coke residue, resulting from the retorting' ,1 connected by transverse conduits and adaptis shown'a plant capable of carrying out the above 300 (I ra: scrubber i of any convenient dem air-inlet c,charging and discharging assemblies provided for delivering any water gas excess to; 20

retorts filled with iron shavings) to form hydrom e 5- gen and iron oxide, the hydrogen passing into ren t form of apparatus, 81 s d at action chamber :L-retort f for destructively dis- Ok a m and n, converted into water-gas at o tilling coal at a temperature of about 500 0., the under the action of the steam jet introduced products of this distillation passing out through under grid 0, and discharged n e m 1 88 35 a conduit f into reaction chamber ',a-rece'iver through The coal s issu ng om c em-t c am r 7,-a discharge conduit having in any permutation or combination ofthelatter into series therewith a fan a, heating coils i posia iq id ar o g at cooling tioned above and below retorts ,f, h and adapted 4 to heat the final product to temperatures graded what I claim e downward from about 300 0., and a cooling coil h M00888 f mi iqui hydr carbons I 1 ,a pair of. electrodes k k adapted to be confrom a mixture 01 water-gas and volatile gases nected to an electrostatic machine Ia, a derived from carbonaceous material which insource of ultraviolet light .9 positioned to send a dud s eat n a xture 01 said gases and sube manner in which the above apparatus an electrostatic field of the type produced by functions has been suggested in the course of it voltages of the order 01' 80,000 to 100,000 volts. description. If the nickel-tin-mercury alloy i t he p ocess 01 fo ming liquid hydrocarbons be used, it is placed inside chamber 1. Othe from a mixture of water-gas and volatile gases j ,a conical grid creceiving thecoke residues GEORGES FRANCIS MICHOT-DUPONT. I

30 ing therethrough (tubes e may tie replaced by beam through a q a ndow n the Wall 0f 3 beam through a quartz Window in the wall of .iecting the mix ur w ile n a h a ed condition. m r 7. i 

